Alabama MINI Car Dealers

Currently on my 2nd BMW Financial Services Lease (2009 7 Series) - I am in Good Standing with BMWFS About to finance a Mini Countryman -- Does my good track record with BMW Financial Services help in my deal with Mini Financial Services -- (i.e. any prefered rates, finance rate reduction, etc)? Thanks!

Countryman S All 4 -- How about rates for 24 months, 10,000 miles?

Congratulations on looking to purchase the new MINI. On the extras, I would tell them to keep them off the vehicle as they are just total nonsense and adding them gives you little or no value. They do add a lot to the dealers bottom line though. I would have no part of them if I were purchasing and I advise you to do the same. Regarding rates, get your rate and pre-approval and offer to let them beat it if they like to try. Only consider apples-to-apples on that front, the exact same amount for the exact same period. If they try anything different I would be very concerned about how good a group they are to deal with. You have the power to work that rate all the way up to you handing them the check from your other source of financing. You also have the power to deny the padding of extras on the car before signing the purchase order. I suggest you use all the tools at your disposal to get the best deal and the best rate you can. These cars are 'hot' in the market but if they press to hard I would look for an alternative if you have any. I would not be shy about letting them know that as well, if you have to have this particular car it will make dealing with the purchase and financing a lot more difficult. Good Luck.

i received a call at 11am today. my S arrived an hour before. i went straight after work and picked up my pepper white cooper s. there is a difference in how it drives compared to the previous s (and i haven't even put the sport mode on). i can't wait until the break in period is over...i paid 27k (and change) out the door. all i got was the sport package, lsd, stereo upgrade, extended warranty and lo jack.

If you find a dealer that is convenient for where you'll be when you get home that's the best option assuming you get MSRP from them. Go to mini.com, build your mini and then send that spec to that dealer as what you want. Give them a lead time of about 3 months if you can to have that car at their location. You may get lucky and find one that you like but there are so many options on Mini's it's hard to say if that will work out. They will likely need about $1,000 deposit and, assuming your car is not way out of the ordindary, this should be refundable if the deal does not work out for some reason. For a loan you could try eLoan.com or other such services for the financing. But you could use them to lock in a rate and see if the dealer will match or beat that. This assumes you don't have options at a credit union or employee benefit or something. Good luck in the hunt. JR